State Issues Final Golden Corral Report

The Wyoming State Health Depatment confirms in a report Thursday that the Casper's Golden Corral restaurant is responsible for a norovirus outbreak late last year in Casper.

In November, the Health Department received several hundred phone calls of people reporting norovirus symptoms. Numbers showed a high number of callers had recent eaten at Golden Corral.

The large of illnesses associated with the Golden Corral incident is not typical for a common norovirus outbreak.

After speaking with employees and patrons, officials did notice some red flags that could have led to the spread of the virus. "Some of those practices that we thought were concerning at the restaurant included having ill workers come into work while they were symptomatic," said Health Department Epidemiologist Kelly Weidenbach. "A lot of restaurant employees reported coming to work sick which poses the risk of transmission from that person to the food."

The State Health Department says they still can't confirm if the Golden Corral norovirus strain is the same as the one reported nationwide. Reports of that strain have been confirmed in Wyoming, but health officials say that is not uncommon.